Paul Hecht

Paul Hecht is an English-born Canadian actor born on August 16, 1941, in London, England, who has worked extensively in stage, film, television, and voice performance. He trained at the National Theatre School of Canada, graduating in 1963.

Hecht made his Broadway debut in 1968 in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, a production that earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. His Broadway career, which spanned from 1967 to 2001, included starring roles in Herzl and 1776, in which he played John Dickinson. Additional Broadway credits include The Rothschilds, The Great God Brown, Don Juan, Caesar and Cleopatra, Night and Day, Noises Off, and The Invention of Love. Away from Broadway, he received an Obie Award in 1989 for his performance in the off-Broadway production of Enrico IV.

Beyond the stage, Hecht built a substantial presence in radio and audio performance. He was a regular performer on Himan Brown's CBS Radio Mystery Theater from 1974 to 1982 and voiced Emperor Palpatine in the radio drama adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He is also known for playing radio newsman Ross Buckingham in Howard Stern's Private Parts. His audio work extends further through recordings for Recorded Books and Audible, as well as performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Allentown Symphony, and at the 92nd Street Y. He performs a program of John Donne sonnets with the early music group Parthenia. In 2010, he voiced a role in the animated film My Dog Tulip.

Hecht's television work includes the recurring role of Charles, Allie's ex-husband, on Kate & Allie, along with frequent appearances on Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, As the World Turns, Starsky & Hutch, Remington Steele, Miami Vice, and Queer as Folk. He served as president of the New York chapter of the Screen Actors Guild from 1991 to 1995.